One Wizard's Loss
by niffizzle
Summary: In the middle of the Malfoy family's Halloween soireé, Theo is tasked with ensuring that Narcissa stays in the ballroom while Draco goes off to find the recently disappeared Hermione. His resolution to help Draco is tested, however, when a different young witch approaches him. [A Somewhere Down the Line companion story. One Shot.]


**Author's Note: To the incredible mcal. Without you, I likely would have quit everything months ago. I could never properly express how much I appreciate all your support, but I hope this small token of my gratitude conveys at least part of it. As I have previously told you, every scene with Theo and Astoria in Somewhere Down the Line is my gift to you, but I thought for today I'd give you a bit more of a look at how our favorite side couple came to be :) Thank you for everything, friend, and I wish you the loveliest of birthdays.**

*********This story takes place between chapters 19 and 20 of Somewhere Down the Line. If you have not read that story through those chapters, I do not recommend reading this yet. Additionally, please be aware that this is not a Dramione story and that Draco, Hermione, and their building relationship will only be mentioned.*****

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Draco was going to kill him. Theo was certain of it.

Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy may have orchestrated this evening with one, sole intention, but Theo knew Draco had a very different goal in mind. After a couple years of nothing but silence from the wizard, Draco had reached out to him and Blaise during his time of emotional struggle. He had trusted them to help. And yet, Theo had botched it.

In his defence, how was he supposed to know Draco hadn't told Hermione about the marriage contract? With the way the wizard was so clearly head over heels for the witch, it was truly a wonder he hadn't spilled his entire heart to her. Presented it on a centuries-old, finely polished silver platter with the inscribed Malfoy crest scratched out. After all, that's essentially what Draco was doing — rejecting generations of tradition to pursue his feelings for her.

Theo had to respect him for it. Under similar circumstances, he wasn't certain he would have had the same courage to defy family expectations and stand up to his father. Luckily, with his own father firmly locked away in Azkaban, Theo didn't have to worry about that.

Not that he even had a witch at the moment. Dating wasn't exactly easy when the last name "Nott" was now synonymous with "Convicted Death Eater's son."

But tonight wasn't about him and his dating woes — even if he was surrounded by a multitude of single witches who clearly didn't care about former Death Eater alliances. He was here to help Draco. With the wizard now off to find wherever Hermione had disappeared to, Theo was tasked with making sure Narcissa Malfoy didn't leave the ballroom. And he was determined to do _this_ job right.

"Hi there."

Theo peered over his shoulder and resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. While he didn't remember ever being formally introduced to the witch, it was easy enough to deduce who she was. With that same button nose and raised cheekbones, she was a near spitting image of her older sister. Only, instead of brunette hair, she was blonde.

"Hate to disappoint, but I don't know where Draco is," Theo dismissed.

He returned his attention to Narcissa. There was no use wasting time conversing with Astoria Greengrass when he could logically presume why she had approached him. Draco had told him and Blaise about their formal meeting last weekend. Without a doubt, she was trying to find the Bachelor of the Evening so she could have another attempt at winning him over. Wasn't that why she and all these other witches were here?

Yet Astoria didn't leave.

"I assume he's off somewhere with Hermione Granger."

Theo whipped his head around. "Why would he be with her?" he asked, fully aware that he was doing a bang-up job of masking his shock.

Astoria snorted. "It's a wonder you survived Slytherin for seven years if you can't last one question without your face revealing everything," she taunted. "But before you concern yourself over whether or not you betrayed Draco's trust, you needn't worry. He already told me about her last week."

Draco had already told her? _Last week?_

Perhaps the witch had pried it out of him during their meeting. Because there was no way Draco had told _Astoria Greengrass_ before he had told him and Blaise!

But while Theo had always been rubbish at maintaining a straight face, he knew not to submit just because the person _claimed _they knew something.

So instead of agreeing with her, Theo cooly stated, "I haven't the foggiest what you're referring to."

Astoria, it seemed, was not easy to dismiss. "Really now?" A small smirk pulled at the corner of her lips. "And what excuse would you like to create to explain why you were speaking to her and Harry Potter earlier?" Her smirk shifted to a coy, teasing grin. "Or would you rather just admit that you're helping Draco avoid having to sign a contract?"

She quirked an eyebrow, waiting for Theo to disagree — which, based on her present expression, she didn't expect to happen. But if she already knew that Draco wasn't interested in her, then why had she approached him?

"Alright," Theo cautiously conceded. "Then how can I help you?"

Astoria presented the back of her hand. "I don't believe we've ever properly met," she said, flashing him a vibrant smile. "I'm Astoria Greengrass."

Theo kept his narrowed gaze trained on her as he took her hand into his and warily lifted it to his lips in greeting. He still couldn't figure out what she wanted. Was she just trying to see what more she could learn from Theo? Or did she intend to use this knowledge against Draco and blackmail him?

"_And?_" he asked when he dropped hold of her hand. If she wasn't going to get on with it, he needed to return his focus to keeping watch on Narcissa.

The question didn't faze her. "Trying to determine my motive?" Astoria correctly surmised. "I'll spare you the trouble. I'm simply mingling with one of Draco's friends. This is a party, is it not?"

A tray of champagne flutes floated past them, and Astoria pulled two off its surface. When she extended one of them to Theo, he noticed the glimmer in her eyes.

He clamped his eyelids shut and reopened them, only to discover that he hadn't imagined it. An alluring smile still tugged at the edges of her lips and her attention was still directed entirely his way.

Theo's suspicions began to fade. Could it be that Astoria had sincerely come to speak with _him_?

Only then did Theo take the time to properly assess Astoria beyond his hasty initial evaluation. While many of her features were similar to Daphne's, others differed greatly. Instead of brown, her eyes were blue. She had a much more relaxed nature compared to Daphne's typical stiff, haughtiness. And Astoria was pretty. _Merlin_, she was pretty.

He wasn't accustomed to pretty witches speaking with him. Lisa Turpin had turned him down for the Yule Ball, and Tracey Davis had only agreed to go as friends. Susan Bones went with him to Hogsmeade once during fifth year, but after his father was sent to Azkaban following the disaster in the Ministry, everyone outside of Slytherin refused to interact with him. He had kept mostly to himself after that, and it wasn't until the conclusion of the war and the re-imprisonment of his father that Theo began to regain a semblance of his former self.

And now, with all those years of struggle long behind them, here was Astoria, seeming to indicate her interest in him. She was pretty, yes, but it was her enticing liveliness that truly ignited his own intrigued interest.

Yet Theo had made a promise to Draco. A promise he intended to keep after he was partially responsible for Hermione's disappearance.

Although, there was no reason why he couldn't stay true to his word _and_ chat up Astoria...

Theo accepted the champagne flute. "In that case, it's a pleasure to formally meet you," he eventually returned, letting his own smile finally reveal itself. "I must warn you, though. If I appear distracted, it's only because I told Draco I'd keep my eyes on his mother."

Theo motioned his head towards Narcissa who was still preoccupied greeting the various soireé guests. Astoria subtly glanced over her shoulder, seeming to understand.

"How about this?" she asked once she returned her attention to Theo. A scintillating glint sparkled in her gaze. "You keep one eye on her, and I'll keep another. That way, there are still two eyes on her, but we can then let our other eye focus on each other."

Theo broadly grinned. He quite liked the sound of that.

He raised his glass to meet Astoria's. "Perhaps this evening won't be as insufferable as I feared."

When they both finished taking a sip from their champagne, Astoria let her eyes wander across the room.

"These parties are always the same," she said with bored disinterest. "Nothing but endless small talk while important witches and wizards try to impress one another. It's suffocating."

Theo snorted. "Then let's make matters more interesting, shall we?" He gently craned his neck and surveyed his options until he spotted Tiberius McLaggen speaking with Everett Bagnold. _Perfect_. He directed Astoria's attention towards the pair. "What do you imagine they're saying?"

Astoria watched the conversation for only a moment before stating simply, "Considering that's Tiberius McLaggen, he's undoubtedly trying to reestablish his connections in influential Ministry circles by speaking with former Minister Bagnold's sister." She wrinkled her forehead. "There's nothing interesting about that."

"Because you said what's obvious," Theo returned with a chuckle. "The fun comes from taking what we know about these people after years of seeing them at all the same boring functions and twisting it to make absurd conversations." He offered her an assured, taunting smirk. "It's simple."

"Alright, then," Astoria said, playing into his game. "Let's hear it."

Theo cleared his throat, before beginning. "Well, _obviously_, Tiberius here is telling poor, beloved Everett about the plightful woes of the McLaggen family after he quietly resigned from his position in the Minister's office for undisclosed reasons. Rumour has it that he was scheming to discredit Shacklebolt's name in hopes to one day become Minister himself, but he's currently _insisting_ that wasn't the case."

"Oh?" Astoria tilted her head in curious captivation as she observed Theo weave the story into creation. "And what exactly _is_ the truth then?"

"He quit to become a professional Nogtail hunter," he claimed. Astoria snickered at the absurdity of the notion, and Theo grinned before he proceeded with the fabrication. "Decided that the Ministry life wasn't for him and that he'd rather pursue his true passion of sparing the pigs of rural Europe from the Nogtails' cursed suckling." Theo sighed in feigned sympathy. "But alas, being a Nogtail hunter is a thankless, unsustainable job, and now dear, old Tiberius is trying to return to the banality of Ministry life."

"Is that so?" Astoria said with a playful grin. "Because _I_ heard from Bertie Higgs that the Nogtail hunting industry is _booming_ at the moment and that Tiberius McLaggen is actually doing quite well for himself."

"Really?" Theo questioned, delighted that Astoria was now joining in the tale. "Then please inform me as to why he's presently speaking with Ms Bagnold."

Astoria mocked incredulity. "You mean you _haven't_ heard about her underground albino bloodhound breeding business? She's the best in all of England, and _everyone_ knows they're the only way to effectively chase away Nogtails!"

The resulting smile on Theo's features was so broad, his cheeks began to hurt. And that remained true the rest of the evening. He and Astoria continued to build new stories until they retired their game to simply talk to one another. Of course, every now and then, Theo would divert his attention to ensure that Narcissa was still in the ballroom, but besides those moments, his focus remained entirely on Astoria.

"Draco never returned," Theo overheard Lucius saying to his wife once most of the guests had gone home.

Theo hushed Astoria so he could hear the rest of the older Malfoys' conversation.

"Did you see if he left with someone?"

"No, he did not. It appears your son was more concerned with causing a scene by inviting Harry Potter than with making any advancements in the courting process."

"He's your son as well."

"He doesn't act like it lately."

"Perhaps you ought to consider lessening your pressure on him. You know he's always wanted to impress you."

"What precisely do you propose, then?"

"You could start by not being so harsh about his writing career. It's clearly something important to him."

"I'll consider what's important to him when he considers what's important to me."

Theo tuned out the rest of the conversation, having heard enough to appease his concerns.

He returned his attention to the witch beside him. "It sounds as though Draco's parents didn't see Hermione here tonight," Theo concluded. "Surely they would have mentioned her name alongside Potter's if they had."

"I supposed they were both too busy focusing on their own objectives for the evening to notice her among all the guests," Astoria added. "And hopefully that means Draco was able to enjoy his evening with Hermione in peace."

Theo snorted. "Merlin, he better have. Otherwise, I'll have to endure a surly Draco Malfoy the next time I see him. And trust me, that's not a pretty picture."

The soireé was winding down, and by this point, it was evident that Draco would not be returning to introduce Hermione to Narcissa. In that regard, the evening had been a complete and utter failure. But Theo had sufficiently upheld his promise and duty as a friend. Now he had his own desires to attend to — mainly the fact that he wasn't ready to say goodnight to Astoria.

"What do you say to going somewhere and getting one final drink together?" he asked, unexpected nerves coursing through him at the voicing of the question. "There's only so much champagne I can tolerate in one night." He offered her a grin. "Imagine the possibilities of a new crowd of witches and wizards to serve as inspiration for our stories."

Astoria smiled. "I'd quite like that."

Side by side, they proceeded out of the ballroom. Theo waited until they were out of everyone's line of vision before slipping his and Astoria's fingers together, their interlaced grips a perfect fit.

Perhaps the soireé hadn't gone as initially intended, but to Theo, the night was a resounding success. Draco would undoubtedly have many more struggles ahead of him before he got what he truly wanted, but at least the wizard had someone he was fighting for. That someone just happened to not be Astoria.

Not that Theo was complaining. There now seemed to be a solid chance of something developing between himself and Astoria. After all, one wizard's loss was another wizard's gain. And Theo had a good feeling about this witch.


End file.
